Did you know that roses have always been a part of nature's landscape
design? Some fossil evidence suggests roses have been around for at
least 30 million years! Roses have been cultivated by man since
Babylon's hanging gardens. The rose as we know it came to Western
civilization from Persia but it was really Empress Josephine, wife of
Napoleon, that restored the rose to its rightful place of honor in the garden.
Today the rose is our most popular flower.
Roses add a sense of history to the garden. Their beauty and vivid colors
are a reminder to all of us of gardens perhaps our grandparents or dear
neighbors once had. They make excellent cut flowers and their fragrance
perfumes the air without being too heavy. Roses are actually very simple
to take care of in your garden. The new hybrids are carefree. If roses
interest you check with a California Certified Nursery Professional for
advice on the best varieties for your area as well as the proper way to
plant and care for them.
Do you have a spot in the garden that doesn't get much attention? Or a
large area where you'd like a touch of color? Consider planting some
wildflower seeds. Wildflowers provide an opportunity for you to have
continual color through the spring because there are so many varieties of
flowers in the mixed packets. They also bloom at different periods through
the season. This is an excellent time to plant them because of the winter
rains. Mix the seeds with river sand before you sow them. The sand helps
weigh down and distribute the tiny seeds. Take a handful of the mixture
and toss it out over the desired area. The best time is right before a storm.
Let God take care of the watering for you!
Brighten the flower beds this January with an offering of vivid annuals.
Nurseries are stocked with a large supply of choices. You can plant
English primrose, pansies, violas, primula obconica, fairy primrose,
cinerarias (plant in protected areas), Iceland poppies, snapdragons, stock,
English daisies, nemesia and linaria. Remember to plant now for a colorful
spring. You can also plant bedding plants as a complement to your bulb
plantings. Redo all those tired container plantings with cheerful annuals.
Perfume the garden with daphne. This shrub is evergreen or deciduous
depending on the climate, species and the variety you choose to plant.
Best known and most widely planted in this state is the Winter Daphne (D.
odora) which is evergreen. It has narrow glossy rich green leaves and
blooms with flowers that are pink on the outside with creamy pink throats.
The flowers grow in clusters at the ends of the branches during February
and March. Daphne odora marginata sometimes called "Yellowedge"
grows similar to its parent but its leaves are straight edged in yellow.
The prime requisite for planting daphne in your garden is excellent
drainage. It needs morning sun but should be protected from reflected
heat in warm, valley climates. Daphnes will tolerate acid soil but do not
require it. Prune daphne when it is in bloom or just afterwards. To
encourage upright growth cut to the inside buds; for spreading growth cut
to the outside buds. Check with a California Certified Nursery
Professional for the best recommendation on planting procedures and
varieties for your area.
Karume azaleas are one of the finest flowering shrubs for California
gardens. They can be planted in a variety of different spots because of
their low, compact, spreading manner of growth.
The Karume is evergreen and blooms from February through May with
flowers so profuse sometimes you can hardly see the plant itself. They are
hardy to 20 degrees and can be grown successfully in most areas of the
state. Plant this variety of azalea as a foreground or border shrub. Another
idea is to plant them "en masse" under trees or in flower beds. Karumes
are available in red, pink, orange, orchid, ruby red and some bi-colors.
Check with your local California Assoc. of Nurserymen member nursery
for more information and planting recommendations.
What popular nut probably graced the first Thanksgiving day tables? What
nut did George Washington frequently enjoy so much that he planted 2
trees at Mt. Vernon? The pecan of course! This North American native
was a staple in the diet of many Indian tribes. The word "pecan" is taken
from the Algonguin Indian tribe word "pakan". There are some pecan trees
that are over 500 years old.
Pecans make a wonderful addition to a family orchard. Pick a spot with
plenty of room in the full sun. The soil should be rich with good drainage.
Keep in mind that it will take at least three to four years for it to produce
nuts but once they start the yield is progressively more each year. Check
with your local California Certified Nursery Professional for the best
varieties for your area.
There's an old saying to the effect that you shouldn't plant a fifty dollar tree
in a two bit hole. Which is a good point to bring up during bareroot planting.
When planting, remember to dig the hole twice as deep and wide as the
tree roots. Check with your California Certified Nursery Professional for
more detailed instructions on bareroot planting.
It's time to sharpen the pruners and other garden tools for another exciting
season of gardening. If you find a jumble of broken handles, unusable or
unrecognizable tools then take yourself to your local nursery or garden
center for just the right tools and great advice on gardening.
JANUARY ARTICLES
Showy Color -Spicy Fragrance
Stock is a rather mundane name for a plant that has stems full of soft
color and a rich, spicy perfume to its flowers. It was once called
"gilli-flower" and is a native of southern Europe and the Isle of Wight off the
coast of England.
For many years stock has been admired as a decorative garden flower,
well suited to planting along the coast as well as inland valleys. It can be
used in beds and borders or simply for the production of cut flowers.
Its leaves have a felt–like appearance and the fragrant flower blooms open
in succession from the bottom up and can be purple, reddish, yellow or
white in color. Some varieties offer color from the purest of whites to the
deepest crimson and include all shades of pink, lilac and purple besides
pale yellow. There are single flowering types and double flowering, the
latter becoming more popular because they stand up better under hot
weather conditions.
The ultimate growing conditions for this fragrant beauty is a soil that is
fertile and well draining. Sunny locations are desired but part day shade is
tolerated. They like cool weather but refuse to prosper in continually wet
soil.
Use them to color up your flower bed along with the many annual plants
available at this time of year. A spring–like garden is easy to achieve
because there are many plants that will provide blooming flowers at this
time of year.
When you plant stock, be sure to have some close to a window, along the
path to the front door or just outside the sliding glass door so you can
enjoy its fragrance first hand.
Osmanthus Sweetens The Garden
The name Osmanthus almost alludes to some garden munching insect
but in reality it comes from the Greek word "osme" meaning fragrance and
"anthos", a sweet flower. One of the most popular varieties is Osmanthus
fragrans known as sweet olive.
This old favorite for outdoor gardening has dark green leaves and fragrant
white and yellow blooms in clusters. The flowers are almost
inconspicuous because of their size but you know they are there because
the scent fills the air come spring and early summer.
The sweet olive is planted for its overall shapeliness and handsome
foliage. Use it as a single planting, as part of a flower bed, as a foundation
plant or as an informal or formal screen or hedge. It also does well in a
container.
Unless you want to train the sweet olive plant into a hedge, no regular
pruning is required. As with any plant, you might want to shape it up by
cutting back any straggly growth or any long branches. Otherwise, care is
relegated to providing a moist but not unreasonably wet soil. Once
established this plant will take considerable drought.
Exposure to the sun should not be direct in the warm inland areas. Plant
the sweet olive in a light to medium shade area. In coastal plantings full
sun is fine. Soil is no problem. It grows in different soils including heavy
clay.
So if you're in the market for a plant that offers more than just its
evergreen good looks, check out the sweet olive for a bonus of fragrance
and versatility as far as use in the
garden.
Stately Gladiolus Add to Summer Beauty
Sometimes its hard to visualize summer in the middle of January but by
planting Gladiolus corms starting this month right up to July, you will have
some of the brightest, attractive flowers to look forward to. Mass the bulbs
in one flower bed or plant clumps of one color here and there throughout
the garden and in containers. Just be sure to plant enough so you can
enjoy them outdoors as well as indoors in the form of cut flowers.
Glads are easy to plant. First, dust the corms with insecticide powder.
This prevents thrips from ruining the flowers. As the tops sprout above the
ground, give them an occasional dusting or use a liquid spray to ward off
any threat of a thrip invasion. Be sure to plant the corms in the ground at
an even level because glads will grow whichever way they are pointing.
When you are preparing the soil, work in some compost and organic
fertilizer such as bonemeal. The corms need to be planted 4-6 inches
deep depending on their size. The larger the corms, the deeper they'll
need to be planted.
After planting, water the corm planting area well and do so on a regular
basis throughout their growing season. Water is very important just before
they open their flowers.
Glads should be staked so they will not fall over from the weight of the
flower spike. You can choose either the standard gladiolus corms or the
dwarf variety. They offer just as bright a display of flowers for the garden
and as a cut flower. To have gorgeous glads in the landscape and as cut
flowers from late spring until fall, plant them in intervals of every 15 to 25
days from now to July.
Bring Life To Your Home With Indoor Plants
The most successful rooms today are composed of more than
"store-bought" furniture and lifeless rugs and drapes. Take a good look at
the interiors you admire most and you'll see how many of them achieve
their freshness and distinction by including attractive indoor plants. The
beautiful "real lift" green of philodendrons, ferns, palms, aralias,
peperomias and other indoor plants not only blend color schemes and
lend an easy grace and elegance to the decor, but they add structure and
design to rooms.
If you're looking for a tub plant to give lots of effect in a hurry try the
Queensland Umbrella Tree. This is a rapid-growing evergreen with
horizontal tiers of compound leaves that never lose their shine. It starts out
as a glossy, compact youngster, then quickly grows taller than you are to
make a ceiling-high tree or shrub. Easy to grow, it needs only occasional
watering and fertilizing once a month to look its glossy best. The
Queenland Umbrella Tree prefers diffused light, it will accept a shaded
interior or full sun. You can keep it in a small planter even after it grows to
be a specimen of some size.
For rich greenery to set on a low coffee table, or use as graceful accents
elsewhere, you might consider the Bird's Nest Fern, one of the
peperomias or a small-leafed philodendron. The larger leafed
philodendrons make lush, tropical appearing plants and will thrive even
under difficult conditions. Many of the palms do beautifully indoors, a
low-growing graceful palm to add to your collection is the beautiful
Neantha Bella.
A Jade tree grown indoors can add a note of sculptured, Oriental charm;
grape ivy is delightful in wall brackets or trailing from a mantelpiece, and
there are dozens of other easy-to-grow house plants available at your
California Association of Nurserymen nursery now. If you ask for a
specially prepared house plant mix to use when transferring them to your
own container, you won't have to worry about proper soil.
Just remember in caring for them that most conditions that are
comfortable for people are also healthful for most plants. Light in the
daytime (but not baking in a sunny window), water when they're thirsty,
enough but not too much heat, and an occasional shower or bath keeps
most of them growing vigorously.
Beauty From Bamboo
Bamboos, from the grass-like dwarf bamboo, (Sasa Pygmaea), to the
giant timber varieties, are among the most decorative additions we can
make to our landscapes. They have a dozen or more uses in the garden,
and if you haven't tried growing one or another of them you are missing a
good bet.
At ground level we have the dwarf bamboo which is one of the most useful
and decorative in the family. It can be used as a screen planting beside a
drive or as a tubbed specimen on the deck, where its feathery grace can
be viewed close at hand. Silhouetted against a window, this fine plant can
be enjoyed from inside both day and night. Try it in a redwood tub or in a
soy tub at the front step.
Related but slightly more tender to frost, is the black bamboo,
(Phyllostachys nigra), which offers the same form and uses as golden
bamboo, (Phyllostachys aurea), except that the canes are decidedly black
highly unusual and most attractive contrasted with the green foliage.
Giant bamboos have a more limited use in the garden, but a single clump
can be highly attractive when viewed from across a spread of lawn or at
the far end of a patio. These giants are both root running and clumping
varieties. Most nursery professionals recommend the clumping varieties
because they can be more easily contained. Root running varieties are
free spreading and hard to contain. Check with your local California
Certified Nursery Professional for the best varieties in your area.
The Magnolia Story
There are still Californians who think all magnolias are towering evergreen
trees, but their number is diminishing. Over the past two decades there
has been an increasing trend toward planting the fine deciduous flowering
members of the family Ö a trend which started mainly in Northern and
Central California, spreading southward as climatic adaptability was
proved by "avant gardeners."
If the evergreen members of the family are magnificent and they truly
deserve the designation the deciduous magnolias are showier in bloom. In
late winter, and often as early as January, they reward us suddenly. The
trees are hidden from sight by a burst of bloom that smothers the plant.
The Saucer Magnolias are often 15 feet high so the show is considerable.
There are several deciduous magnolias which you can ask a local
California Certified Nursery Professional about. The most widely planted in
all areas is the Saucer Magnolia, a medium sized shrub or a small
multiple-trunked tree. Flower color of this hybrid ranges from white through
pink and rose to a vivid red-purple. Mature specimens are remarkably
beautiful when in full bloom.
The next most widely planted variety is the dainty Star Magnolia, smaller in
over-all stature, more delicate in bloom. The name derives from the split or
pinwheel nature of the flowers.
The Lily Magnolias or Lily Tree has slightly more tubular blooms, white on
the inside, purple outside.
Many of these magnolias are in bloom this month and are worth driving a
country mile to see. Regarding their placement and culture in your own
landscape, a local California Certified Nursery Professional can fill you in.
So why wait? |
